A girl cursed by an evil witch to relive the lives of different princesses when she falls asleep. One constant remains the same in all her dreams, one day her prince will come. The only question is will he save her in time?
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Chapter 18- A Look to the Past
We set out bright and early the next morning. Dawn had barely begun indicating the start of a new day. For me it was just a continuation of an even longer night.
I was unable to sleep, plagued by fear and anxiety of being cursed or killed if I closed my eyes. I laid in the same bed I woke up in, with on hand clenched into a fist and the other clutching the dagger. I tried to hide my exhaustion when Colin knocked on the door. I couldn't let him know I was off balance, it would make me an easier target.
Fortunately, he stayed silent as we donned our cloaks and ate a quick breakfast. I did not know why but I was glad he chose to stay silent. I'd like to think it was his fear of me, though he could have easily been just as tired.
"Stay close to me." Colin warned, looking back at me with his hand hovering over the doorknob.
"I don't have a choice now do I?" I shrugged. Colin gave no response and opened the door. Stepping out of the hut meant escaping the protection of the enchantments leaving us vulnerable to practically everything.
As if the Earth could sense this, a wave of chilled air overcame us as soon as we came outside, welcoming us to a perilous reality.
Colin slung his satchel over his shoulder and I did the same, tightening the strap of my cloak to protect me from the cold. It was a false sense of security.
"Let's go." Colin said over his shoulder, seeing that I was stuck in place and not following him. "A moving target is hard to track." He advised.
I snapped out of my haze and shuffled along glad my heeled shoes were inside the hut. Colin lent me a pair of his shoes and while they were too large and scraped against the back of my feet uncomfortable, they were definitely more comfortable than wearing those blasted heels.
It'll be a cold day in hell before I wear one of those willingly.
Colin stayed silent as he led us through the Forest of Daraght. I knew why I was being silent, but his silence was more unnerving. I wondered if he was hiding something else.
Eventually my mind could not handle the lull of silence and I spoke up.
"Can you tell me again what happened the night I was cursed?" The subject had been on my mind a lot recently. Something about the explanation was not adding up.
"As soon as we are on the right path." He said quickly, dodging my question without skipping a beat. It confirmed my suspicion there was more to the story.
"You're deflections won't make me forget." I reminded him.
From his position a few feet away I heard him mumbling under his breath, "Believe me I know." I glared at the back of his head for a while after that.
We continued walking single file in silence. The only sounds were of the occasional twig snapping or the grunting sound I made when I tripped over a rock. I could kill a man with a sword, yet a rock can alter my entire sense of balance.
